You can edit almost every page by Creating an account. Otherwise, see the FAQ.

ViacomCBS Inc.

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

ViacomCBS Inc.
One Astor Plaza1.JPG
ViacomCBS headquarters at One Astor Plaza in New York City
Public
Traded as
ISIN🆔US92556H2067
IndustryMass media
Entertainment
Predecessors
Founded 📆December 4, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-04)
Founder 👔Shari Redstone
Headquarters 🏙️One Astor Plaza, ,
U.S.
Area served 🗺️
Worldwide
Key people
Revenue🤑 Increase US$25.29 billion (2020)
Decrease US$4.14 billion (2020)
Increase US$2.42 billion (2020)
Total assetsIncrease US$52.66 billion (2020)
Total equityIncrease US$15.37 billion (2020)
Owners
Members
Number of employees
22,109[3]
Divisions
Subsidiaries
🌐 Websitewww.viacomcbs.com
📇 Address
📞 telephone

ViacomCBS Inc. is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation formed through the merger of the second incarnation of CBS Corporation and the second incarnation of Viacom on December 4, 2019[4] (which were split from the first incarnation of Viacom in 2006) and headquartered at the One Astor Plaza complex in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The company operates over 170 networks and reaches approximately 700 million subscribers in approximately 180 countries, as of 2019.[5]

The company's main properties include the Paramount Pictures film and television studio, the CBS Entertainment Group (consisting of the CBS television network, television stations, and other CBS-branded assets), domestic networks (consisting of U.S.-based cable television networks including but not limited to MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, and Showtime), and the company's streaming services (including Paramount+ and Pluto TV). ViacomCBS also has a dedicated international division that manages international versions of its networks, as well as region-specific assets like Telefe in Argentina and a 30% stake in the Rainbow S.p.A. studio in Italy.[6]

Background[edit]

original Viacom logo
CBS Corporation logo
spun-off Viacom logo

In 1952, CBS formed CBS Television Film Sales, a division which handled syndication rights for CBS's library of network owned television series. This division was renamed CBS Films in 1958, and again renamed CBS Enterprises Inc. in January 1968, and finally renamed Viacom in 1970. In 1971, this syndication division was spun off amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies. (The rules were abolished completely in 1993.)[7] In 1985, Viacom purchased MTV Networks & Showtime/The Movie Channel Inc. from Warner Communications and American Express.[8] In 1986, Viacom was acquired by its present owner, theater operator company National Amusements. In 1994, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications. In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to merge with its former parent CBS Corporation (the renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had merged with CBS in 1995). The merger was completed in 2000, resulting in CBS reuniting with its former syndication division. On January 3, 2006, Viacom was split into two companies: CBS Corporation, the former's corporate successor and the spun-off Viacom company.[9]

History[edit]

Formation[edit]

On September 29, 2016, National Amusements, the parent company of CBS Corporation and Viacom, wrote to Viacom and CBS encouraging the two companies to merge back into one company.[10] On December 12, the deal was called off.[11]

On January 12, 2018, CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation, after the merger of AT&T-Time Warner and Disney's proposed acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox's assets were announced. Viacom and CBS also faced heavy competition from companies such as Netflix and Amazon.[12] Shortly afterward, it was reported that the combined company could be a suitor for acquiring the film studio Lionsgate.[13] Viacom and Lionsgate were both interested in acquiring The Weinstein Company.[14] Following the Weinstein effect, Viacom was listed as one of 22 potential buyers that were interested in acquiring TWC.[14] They lost the bid, and on March 1, 2018, it was announced that Maria Contreras-Sweet would acquire all of TWC's assets for $500 million.[15][16] Lantern Capital would later acquire the studio.

On March 30, 2018, CBS made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value, insisting that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEO Les Moonves, oversee the re-combined company. Viacom rejected the offer as too low, requesting a $2.8  billion increase and that Bob Bakish be maintained as president and COO under Moonves. These conflicts had resulted from Shari Redstone seeking more control over CBS and its leadership.[17][18]

Eventually, on May 14, 2018, CBS Corporation sued its and Viacom's parent company National Amusements and accused Redstone of abusing her voting power in the company and forcing a merger that was not supported by it or Viacom.[19][20] CBS also accused Redstone of discouraging Verizon Communications from acquiring it, which could have been beneficial to its shareholders.[21]

On May 23, 2018, Les Moonves explained that he considered the Viacom channels to be an "albatross," and while he favored more content for CBS All Access, he believed that there were better deals for CBS than the Viacom deal, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lionsgate, or Sony Pictures. Moonves also considered Bakish a threat because he did not want an ally of Shari Redstone as a board member of the combined company.[22]

On September 9, 2018, Les Moonves exited CBS following multiple accusations of sexual assault. National Amusements agreed to not propose a CBS-Viacom merger for at least two years after the date of the settlement.[23]

On May 30, 2019, CNBC reported that CBS Corporation and Viacom would explore merger discussions in mid-June 2019. CBS's board of directors was revamped with people who were open to merging; the re-merger was made possible with the resignation of Moonves, who had opposed all merger attempts. The talks had started following rumors of CBS acquiring Starz from Lionsgate.[24] Reports said that CBS and Viacom reportedly set August 8 as an informal deadline for reaching an agreement to recombine the two media companies.[25][26] CBS announced to acquire Viacom as part of the re-merger deal for up to $15.4 billion.[27]

On August 2, 2019, it was reported that CBS and Viacom agreed to merge back into one entity, with both companies agreeing on the management team for the merger. Bob Bakish would serve as CEO of the combined company with the president and acting CEO of CBS, Joseph Ianniello, overseeing CBS-branded assets.[28] On August 7, 2019, CBS and Viacom separately reported their quarterly earnings as the talks about the re-merger continued.[29][30]

Operations[edit]

On August 13, 2019, CBS and Viacom officially announced their merger; the combined company was to be named ViacomCBS, with Shari Redstone serving as chair.[31][32][33] Upon the merger agreement, Viacom and CBS jointly announced that the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2019, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.[33] The merger required approval by the Federal Trade Commission.[33]

On October 28, 2019, the merger was approved by National Amusements, which then announced the deal would close in early December; the recombined company will trade its shares on Nasdaq under the symbols "VIAC" and "VIACA" after CBS Corporation delist its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.[34][35]

On November 25, 2019, Viacom and CBS announced the merger would close on December 4 and begin trading on NASDAQ on next day.[36][37] On December 4, 2019, Bakish confirmed that the ViacomCBS merger had closed.[38]

On December 10, 2019, days after the merger, Bakish announced that ViacomCBS would look to divest Black Rock, the building that held CBS's headquarters since 1964. He stated, "Black Rock is not an asset we need to own and we believe that money would be put to better use elsewhere."[39] On December 20, 2019, ViacomCBS agreed to acquire a 49% minority stake in film studio Miramax from beIN Media Group for $379 million. As part of the purchase, Paramount Pictures reached a long-term deal for exclusive distribution rights to its library, and first-look agreements to co-develop new film and television projects based on Miramax-owned properties.[40]

On March 2, 2020, executive vice president Dana McClintock announced that he would depart the company after 27 years in CBS Communications.[41] On March 4, the company announced plans to potentially sell its Simon & Schuster publishing unit, with Bakish arguing that it lacked a "significant connection for our broader business.”[42]

On June 19, 2020, Jaime Ondarza, formerly the senior vice president of Turner Broadcasting South Europe and Africa, became the new head of ViacomCBS Networks International for France, Spain, Italy, the Middle East, Greece, and Turkey.[43]

On August 4, 2020, ViacomCBS announced that the company's connected video advertising platform, EyeQ, is set to launch in fall 2020.[44]

On September 14, 2020, ViacomCBS announced an agreement to sell the CBSi owned CNET Media Group to Red Ventures for $500 million. The deal will include the eponymous CNET tech site, as well as ZDNet, GameSpot, the TV Guide digital assets, Metacritic, and Chowhound.[45][46] The deal closed on October 30, 2020.[47]

On November 17, 2020, various news outlets had reported that companies such as Vivendi, Bertelsmann's Penguin Random House and News Corp's HarperCollins had considered acquiring Simon & Schuster for as much as $1.7 billion. ViacomCBS had expected the bids to be placed before November 26.[48] On November 25, 2020, Penguin Random House agreed to purchase Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion, pending regulatory approval.[49] On August 16, 2021, ViacomCBS announced that they had agreed to sell the CBS Building to the real estate investment and management firm Harbor Group International for $760 million, leasing the space back under a short-term lease.[50]

ViacomCBS International Inc.[edit]

ViacomCBS International Inc.
Formerly
Viacom International Inc. (1971–2021)
Division
ISIN🆔
Founded 📆1971; 53 years ago (1971)
Founder 👔
Headquarters 🏙️, ,
United States
Area served 🗺️
Members
Number of employees
ParentViacomCBS
🌐 Website[Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] 
📇 Address
📞 telephone

ViacomCBS International Inc. (formerly known as Viacom International Inc.) is the subsidiary responsible called for copyrights and trademarks associated with its corporate websites and cable networks, specifically its Domestic Media Networks division, and is the division which licenses the product rights for their various properties. Before 1986, Viacom International was the parent company of Viacom, and the old CBS television show catalogs. Before the merger with CBS Corporation in 1999, it also acted as the first Viacom's licensee company for Viacom's owned television stations; for instance, New Britain, Connecticut station WVIT, currently an NBC owned-and-operated station for the Hartford market owned by Viacom from 1978 until 1997, took their call letters from Viacom International. Since the second merger between Viacom and CBS in 2019, this subsidiary has been renamed in 2020.

History[edit]

Viacom International Inc. was founded in 1971, Viacom International renamed as CBS Operations, Inc. in 2006. second Viacom International Inc was founded in 2005. The company's line of business includes the dissemination of visual and textual television programs on a subscription or fee basis. Viacom International Inc. is a subsidiary of Viacom. It is the holding company for copyrights and trademarks associated with Viacom's corporate websites and its cable networks, specifically Viacom Media Networks, and is the division which licenses the product rights for their various properties. This subsidiary was also credited as Viacom International, Inc. before it was renamed in 2020 as ViacomCBS International, Inc. ever since the second merger between Viacom and CBS in 2019 began briefly.

Nickelodeon Productions[edit]

Nickelodeon Productions is a television production and distribution company that produces/distributes television series for the TV network, Nickelodeon made in 1989.

Leadership[edit]

Board of directors[edit]

Senior Management[edit]

  • Robert Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS
    • Raffaele Annecchino, ViacomCBS Networks International
    • Alex Berkett, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy
    • George Cheeks, President and CEO, CBS and Chief Content Officer, News and Sports, Paramount+
    • Naveen Chopra, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
      • Anthony DiClemente, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations
      • Katherine Gill-Charest, Executive Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer
      • Richard M. Jones, Executive Vice President, General Tax Counsel and Chief Veteran Officer
      • Phil Wiser, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
    • Dan Cohen, President, ViacomCBS Global Distribution
    • Christa A. D'Alimonte, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
    • Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO, Paramount Pictures and Chief Content Officer, Movies, Paramount+
    • Bruce Gillmer, President, Music, Music Talent, Programming and Events, ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks and Chief Content Officer, Music, Paramount+
    • Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution
    • Pam Kaufman, President of ViacomCBS Consumer Products
    • DeDe Lea, Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy and Government Relations
    • Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, MTV Entertainment Group and Chief Content Officer, Unscripted Entertainment and Adult Animation, Paramount+
    • David Nevins, Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks and Chief Content Officer, Scripted Originals, Paramount+
    • Julia Phelps, Executive Vice President, Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer
    • Nancy Phillips, Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer
    • Brian Robbins, President and CEO, Nickelodeon Group and Chief Content Officer, Kids & Family, Paramount+
    • Jo Ann Ross, President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, ViacomCBS Domestic Advertising Sales
    • Tom Ryan, President and CEO, ViacomCBS Streaming
    • Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion, ViacomCBS and Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Kids & Family Entertainment Brands, ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks
    • Jose Tolosa, Executive Vice President, Chief Transformation Officer

Company units[edit]

ViacomCBS comprises five major units:

Other assets owned by ViacomCBS include the Paramount Pictures film and television studio, book publisher Simon & Schuster, multi-genre online video conference VidCon, mixed martial arts promoter Bellator, and media and entertainment company Awesomeness. As of November 2019, Awesomeness is overseen by its co-founder Brian Robbins, an executive for ViacomCBS Domestic.[54] The company also has an undisclosed stake in FuboTV, acquired in 2020.[55]

References[edit]

  1. "SEC Filing - ViacomCBS Inc". ViacomCBS.
  2. Sherman, Alex (12 August 2020). "Sumner Redstone handed a media empire to his daughter, Shari, who now controls its fate". CNBC. Shari owns the other 20% through a separate trust.
  3. "ViacomCBS (VIAC)". Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. "CBS and Viacom Reveal December Merger Date – Mark Your Calendars". November 25, 2019.
  5. "ViacomCBS | Company Profile | Vault.com". Vault. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  6. Roxborough, Scott; Brzeski, Patrick (May 24, 2021). "Why Local-Language Adaptations Are the Next Round of Remakes". The Hollywood Reporter. ViacomCBS counts Argentina's Telefe and producer Iginio Straffi's Italian TV shingle Rainbow, in which it has a 30 percent stake, among its global assets.
  7. D. Croteau; W. Hoynes (2006). The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press. pp. 100–101. Search this book on
  8. Fabrikant, Geraldine (1986-09-17). "VIACOM CHIEF LEADS GROUP'S BUYOUT BID (Published 1986)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-23. In November 1985, Viacom acquired MTV for $326 million in cash and warrants. One-third of MTV was publicly owned; the rest was owned by Warner Communications and the American Express Company. At the same time, Viacom bought the 50 percent of Showtime, the pay television service, that it did not already own for $184 million. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  9. "CBS And Viacom Complete Merger". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  10. Szalai, George (September 29, 2016). "National Amusements Proposes Viacom, CBS Reunion, Cites "Substantial Synergies"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  11. "Shari Redstone withdraws CBS-Viacom merger proposal". CNBC. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  12. Wang, Christine (January 12, 2018). "Viacom, CBS shares surge after report Shari Redstone pursuing merge of companies". CNBC. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  13. Busch, Anita; Chmielewski, Anita (January 17, 2019). "Lionsgate Ripe For Takeover As Amazon, Verizon and CBS-Viacom Emerge As Potential Suitors". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Weinstein Co Talking to 22 Buyers, $300 Million Expected Price, Bob Weinstein Must Exit". The Wrap. October 26, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  15. Ryan Faughnder (March 1, 2018). "Former Obama administration official has reached a deal to buy Weinstein Co. assets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  16. Chmielewski, Dawn (March 2, 2018). "TWC Board, New York AG Confirm Maria Contreras-Sweet Group Has Acquired Weinstein Company Assets". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  17. "Moonves vs. Redstone: Inside the Poisonous War for Control of CBS and Viacom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  18. Littleton, Cynthia (April 11, 2018). "Could CBS-Viacom Strife Cause Leslie Moonves to Walk Away?". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  19. "CBS Sues Redstones' Firm in Escalation of Longstanding Fight". Bloomberg L.P. May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  20. Chmielewski, Dawn C. (May 14, 2018). "National Amusements Fires Back at CBS Suit, Says It's "Outraged" By Allegations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  21. Chmielewski, Dawn C. (May 14, 2018). "Verizon Expressed Interest in Acquiring CBS Before Viacom Talks Heated Up". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  22. Bond, Paul (May 23, 2018). "Behind Leslie Moonves' Crusade to Save CBS From Viacom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  23. Parker, Ryan (September 9, 2018). "Leslie Moonves Exits CBS After Being Accused of Sex Crimes, Violence by More Women". The Hollywood Reporter.
  24. James, Meg (May 30, 2019). "CBS and Viacom merger negotiations expected to resume". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  25. Munson, Ben (July 16, 2019). "CBS, Viacom set early August deadline for re-merger agreement – report". FierceVideo. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  26. Littleton, Synthia (July 19, 2019). "CBS, Viacom Boards Wrestle With Post-Merger Management Decisions, Ending COO Role (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  27. "How a Merged CBS-Viacom Could Try to Compete with Hollywood Giants". The Hollywood Reporter. July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019. CBS' plan to acquire Viacom for up to $15.4 billion could be announced Aug. 8, giving its controlling shareholder the ability to leverage IP like 'Star Trek' across film and TV to better compete with Disney, Netflix and the rest.
  28. "CBS, Viacom Reach Tentative Deal on Team to Lead Combined Company". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  29. Lafayette, Jon (August 7, 2019). "CBS-Viacom Deal Won't Make Deadline". Broadcasting Cable.
  30. Bouma, Luke (August 7, 2019). "CBS & Viacom's Merger Announcement is Reportedly Delayed as Talks Continue". Cord Cutters News.
  31. Gasparino, Charles; Moynihan, Lydia (August 13, 2019). "CBS, Viacom agree to merge, forming a $28B entertainment firm". Fox Business. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  32. Szalai, George; Bond, Paul; Vlessing, Etan (August 13, 2019). "CBS, Viacom Strike Deal to Recombine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 "CBS and Viacom To Combine" (PDF). CBS. August 12, 2019.
  34. Steinberg, Brian (October 28, 2019). "Viacom, CBS Set to Merge in Early December". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  35. Weprin, Alex (October 29, 2019). "Viacom-CBS Merger Now Expected to Close in 'Early December'". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  36. "CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. Announce Expected Closing Date of Merger". businesswire.com. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  37. "CBS and Viacom Reveal December Merger Date – Mark Your Calendars". November 25, 2019.
  38. Weprin, Alex (December 4, 2019). "Bob Bakish's Memo to ViacomCBS Staff: Merger "A Historic Moment"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  39. Weprin, Alex. "CBS' Historic New York Headquarters to Be Sold". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  40. Szalai, Georg (December 20, 2019). "ViacomCBS to acquire 49 percent stake in Miramax for $375 million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  41. Patten, Dominic (2020-03-02). "CBS Communications Chief Dana McClintock To Exit This Summer After 27 Years At Company". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  42. Baysinger, Tim (2020-03-04). "ViacomCBS to Sell Publisher Simon and Schuster". TheWrap. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  43. "ViacomCBS hires former Turner exec Jaime Ondarza for Europe role". TBI Vision. 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  44. Hayes, Dade (2020-08-04). "ViacomCBS Sets Launch Of EyeQ, A Comprehensive Offering For Advertisers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  45. Hayes (2020-09-14). "Red Ventures acquires CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500M". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  46. Mullin, Benjamin (2020-09-14). "WSJ News Exclusive | ViacomCBS to Sell CNET to Red Ventures for $500 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  47. "Red Ventures Announces Closing of Acquisition of CNET Media Group". PR Newswire. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  48. Goldsmith, Jill (November 17, 2020). "Simon & Schuster Bids Due by Thanksgiving; News Corp., Bertelsmann, Vivendi Contenders for ViacomCBS Publisher". Deadline. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  49. Whitten, Sarah (November 25, 2020). "ViacomCBS Sells Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2 billion". CNBC. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  50. Goldsmith, Jill (August 16, 2021). "ViacomCBS Sells Black Rock Building In Midtown Manhattan To Harbor Group For $760 Million". Deadline Hollywood.
  51. "CW Network LLC profile". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  52. "Le Società italiane del gruppo Viacom" (PDF). Viacom International Media Networks. July 29, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2019.
  53. "TV18 to increase stake to 51% in Viacom18, the JV with Viacom Inc". Viacom18. January 31, 2018. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  54. James, Meg (November 10, 2019). "Viacom reorganizes creative team in advance of CBS merger". Los Angeles Times.
  55. "How ViacomCBS Has Sharpened Its Focus on Streaming Via Deals | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

External links[edit]